Looking Back to Move Forward

       Upon receiving our summer research topic from CCZ, I knew very little about it. After our initial examination of the topic, it seemed counter-intuitive for us to be focusing on the North-West region and we struggled to reconcile the fact that mining directly accounts for very little employment in Zambia yet the industry in general plays a big role in poverty and health. However, after doing some research, our questions began to get answered and we learned a great deal not only about mining in Zambia but also how it affects the poverty of people and subsequently, their health. While there is not too much research done on our specific topic, there is a great deal of information available on each of its components, namely mining, poverty, and health. Thus, the bulk of our project will be synergizing what we find out through literature review and in country to link the parts of the topic together and determine relationships between them.

One of the main things we have learned so far is that the North-Western Province of Zambia is the poorest and least developed and that it is referred to as the “New Copperbelt” as a result of the large mines opened in its capital, Solwezi. We have also found that interestingly, the major link between mining and poverty comes from the government’s management of revenue from mining in relation to poverty reduction programs. Yet, we still have many questions and areas that we would like to explore in our literature review stage before our time in Zambia itself. For instance, we would like to examine Zambia’s current poverty reduction efforts and compare them to those of other countries in similar situations to determine their effectiveness and what could be improved. We are also interested in the specific considerations we need to account for given the region our project is framed by. CCZ has not answered our email regarding this question as of yet but hopefully we are able to get in contact with them before arriving in country. Another major area we hope to learn more about through talking with people in Zambia is their lived experience and the challenges they face in terms of poverty and health outcomes. These major areas of focus will shape our goals and game plan in country. We hope to establish contact with CCZ as soon as possible so that we get a better idea of what they would like us to focus on, enabling us to hit the ground running in Zambia. Much of our efforts will remain focused on researching statistics and analyzing government policies but we also hope to talk to a lot of community members associated with our topic and hear their insight on the issues at hand. These perspectives from community members would allow us to better understand how people’s lifestyle affects issues related to poverty and health and what ways government policies play a role in people’s lives. This will allow us to more appropriately analyze the government’s policies and frame our recommendations.

As a biological sciences major and someone who is very health-oriented, I would like to see our research focus a bit on the health aspect of the topic. I do not know very much about Zambian health besides the grave statistics and thus I am interested to talk to people in country and see for myself what health outcomes are linked to poverty and possibly even mining professions. I am also interested to see exactly how the Zambian government manages their mining revenue and how the interplay between foreign capital and mining tax revenue shapes the economic status of Zambians and their government’s poverty reduction efforts. I originally thought the topic would focus on how mining employs a great deal of people and thus how this industry affects poverty and economic status. Yet, the project seems to be going in a different direction and I am curious to examine government policies and see where it leads. I think also focusing on the policies of other countries in terms of poverty reduction and management of tax revenue would be very insightful in analyzing Zambian domestic policies. Thus, I hope we are able to explore this field in our future research as well.

Looking back at my personal learning goals at the beginning of the semester, I think the vast majority of my goals have remained the same. My interests and what I hope to get out of the summer experience have not radically changed over the course of the semester and I am still interested in learning about how to do policy analysis research, finding out more about Zambian culture, getting to know our cohort better, and figuring out if public health may be something for me in the future among other things. That being said, I was able to accomplish a substantial amount of the goals I outlined for the pre-departure seminar over the course of the semester. After the course, I do feel like I know more about the economic situation, political atmosphere, healthcare system, and cultural beliefs of Zambia. Nonetheless, I would still like to learn a great deal more before embarking on our trip and thus after finals, I plan on doing some more research on these topics as well as how to say stock phrases in the local languages we may encounter. I achieved one of my personal goals of getting to know the other members of the trip better and now I feel more comfortable around them and am excited to spend my summer with them!

Looking back at this semester, I feel confident that this summer is going to be a great experience and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. The other students in the cohort are all amazing and I couldn’t ask for a better group to spend eight weeks abroad with. Additionally, I know more about Zambian culture and feel well-prepared with all the information the program leaders and assistants have given us. This gives me more confidence as I make my final preparations for our time in Zambia. I am excited for our homestay and curious to see what direction our project ends up going in. Despite this excitement, I am a little nervous about being away from home and all my friends for so long. I know I will be missing them a lot and I hope I will be able to text or talk to them most days, if not every day. Additionally, I am slightly nervous about getting everything done for our project and producing a quality final product as this is a new field for me. Yet, I’m sure we will be able to figure it out as we go along though and I am confident in our ability to do well in the end. Overall, I can’t wait for our summer in Zambia and I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with our group!